Varnish-kiln.



C. A. UUTLER.

VARNISH KILN.

APPLIUATION FILED Muze, 1912.

if? z. r)

m n, f Egg? M im m urnrnn srafrns PATENT ernten..

CLIFFORD A. CUTLER, OF BUFFALO, NEW YORK.

VARNISI--ICILN.

T0 all whom 'it muy concern Be it known that I, CLIFFORD A. CLITLER, a citizen of the United States ot America, residing at luiiialo, in the county of Erie and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Varnish- Kilns, o't which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

In most of the present kilns, condensing coils are used to cause a circulation of air in the kiln. In kilns oi' this type, the moist-nre in the air contained within the kiln is condensed by the condensing coils and taken out of the air, thus making the air inside of the kiln much drier than that on the outside thereof. In these kilns, the varnish is hardened or oxidized in air containing a great deal less moisture than the air outside of the kiln, and, as is well known to those skilled in the art, the wood upon which the varnish has been spread should not be treated to an excessive drying condition during the :tinishing process. ln producing my invention, therefore, I have sought to provide a kiln which shall dispense with the use of condensing coils and in which the humidity of the air may be controlled and kept proportionately the saine as that of the atmosphere outside of the kiln. This also prevents the upper surface of the varnish from hardening before the varnish underneath can dry.

Another object of my invention has been to provide a kiln which maybe conveniently and easily installed in any factory at a comparatively small initial cost and one which shall be inexpensive to operate.

Another obiect ot my invention has been to provide a kiln in which the oxygen contained in thl air in said kiln may be replenished without causing a drop in temperature of the air contained in the kiln. thus greatly decreasing the time ot oxidization ot the xarnish. Furthermore, the circulation oit' air in my kiln is in a general horizontal direction, so that. large surfaces, such. for inst-ance` as table tops, will be dried as rapidly at the center thereof as at the edges and a large number of pieces may also be rapidly'. dried by 'placing them in a horizontal position on racks placed in the kiln.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings forming part of this specification, in which like characters 'of reference Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed May 28, 1912.

Patented Aug. 4, 1914i.

Serial No. 700,256.

indicate like parts, throughout the several views of which .Figure 1 is a plan View of my kiln. Fig. 2 is a side sectional elevation thereof. Fig. shows an er. urged sectional view of a means for securing together the edges of two adjacent curtains. Fig. -l is an enlarged sectional elevation of the bottom edge of one of the curtains and shows the curtain stick in place. Fig. 5 is a plan View ot' a modified form oi kiln where only two curtains are employed. Fig. (i is a sectional elevation of a single curtain and shows substantially the form the curtain takes when the kiln is in operation.

In the drawings, 8 represents the ceiling and l) the floor line ot' any room in which my kiln is placed. Suspended from the ceiling S are porous curtains or permeable walls 10, which incluse the space forming my kiln. These curtains, which are prefeably fabric, are hung from a stringer l1, or other suitable means secured to the ceiling 8. 'i'hcy extend from the ceiling 8 down to the Iloor Si and nach is preferably provided near the lower end with a hatten 12, which extends across thc full width of each of the curtains. This batteu acts to stiti'en the curtain at the lower edge and aids in keeping the curtain in place near the floor. Each ot the curtains below the hatten l2 is preferably providml with a projecting end 13 which is arranged to lie upon the floor l) and when the curtain is in position, this projection serves to close the space between the curtain and the floor, even it' there he incqualities in the upper surface of the floor. Nach ot' the curtains l() is provided with suitable means for raising them out of the way. This may be accomplished by any one ol the well known means, but preferably as shown in the drawings, where l-l represents :i cord secured to the hatten l2 at one cad and extending up the outside ot' the curPin, through eyelets or rings ll'. secured to the saine at suitable intervals. and over a pulley lo. secured to the ceiling 8.

llaced within tl ,.kiln and near one of the, curtains is a radiator 1T, which is for the purpose of heating the air contained 'in my kiln. 'lhis radiator is preferably ofthe hot-water type, which is provided with an opening at the top on one side and a like iOO 18 represents the steam outlet thereof.

y2O is a ballieplate which is placed between the radiator and the curtain l0 and serves to deflect the air currents upwardly.

21 is a fan which preferably oscillatcs and which is placed in front of the radiator and operated to draw the air from the opposite side ofthe kiln and force it through the said radiator. This fan Ymay be dispensed with if desired, as there would be without it a natural circulation of air within the kiln, but the fan is preferably employed to increase that circulation and when used, it permits the employment of a smaller radiator than otherwise.

When my kil'n is employed in factories where there is considerable draft, it is advisable to employ some means to secure the edges of adjacent curtains together. This may be carried out by the arrangement shown in Fig. 3, where 22 represents a post ywhich is secured to the floor and is preferably disposed inside of the kiln and at each corner thereof. Inclosing the posts on two sides are two strips of flat material 23, which are preferably secured together at right angles to each other. When in use, the two adjacent edges of the curtains l0 are placed between one of the posts and one pair of the strips 23 and frictionally held in this position. The strips 23 are secured to the posts 22 by any suitable means.

25 represents a steam nozzle which is connected to the steam supply pipe 18 and provided with a valve 26. By means of this nozzle, steam may be admitted to the kiln, as desired, and thereby the humidity of the air may be increased.

In F ig. 5 I have shown a modified arrangement in case it is desired to place my kiln in the corner of a room and thus employ two walls 27 of the room for two of the walls of the kiln. In some cases advantageous results may be obtained by this arrangement.

When my kiln is in operation, the air contained therein is drawn across the bottom of the kiln and blown through the radiator by the fan 2l. This air, as it passes through the radiator is heated and is deliected upinlet and 19 the wardly by the baflie plate 20. This air, 1oe-- cause of its heated condition, as well as, because of the current produced by the fan, will rise to the upper part of the kiln. The heated air, as it passes across the upper part of the kiln strikes the opposite curtain and the curtain at each side near their top, and as this air is higher in temperature than that contained in the atmosphere outside of the kiln, it is cooled somewhat, which causes it to move downwardly toward the bottom of the kiln, where it is again drawn, by means ofthe fan and forced through the radiator, when it is again heated. The curtains of my kiln thus act as cooling surfaces but do not condense any of the moisture contained in the air. As the curtains are somewhat porous and permeable, some of the air, as it strikes the upper part thereof, will pass therethrough and fresh air will be drawn in the kiln through the curtains at the bottom to takey the place of that which has passed out through the top part of the curtains, as indicated by the arrows in Fig. 6. By this means, the oxygen in. the air contained within the kiln will be replenished and the hardening of the varnish greatly increased thereby. l

One of the obvious, practical advantages of my kiln is that it may be used at night and during the day the curtains thereof may be raised and the floor space which it occupies may thus be utilized for other purposes.

I have found in practice that the size of my kiln is made preferably fifteen feet square and for this, size kiln a radiator having about one hundred and fifty square feet of radiating surface is preferable.

Obviously, some detail modications of the device herein shown and described may be made, without departing from the spirit of my invention or the scope of the appended claims, and I do not wish to be limited to the exact embodiment herein shown and described.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is:

l. A closed air kiln comprising at least cue cui-tained wall, means for radiating heat within the kiln, and means for driving air through said heat radiating means.

2. A closed air kiln comprising curtained walls, means for radiating heat within said walls, means for driving heat through said heat radiating means, and means for sealing the lower edges of saidy walls.

3. A closed air kiln comprising curtained walls, means for radiating heat within said walls, and means for increasing the humidity of the air contained within said walls.

t. A closed air kiln comprising curtained walls, means for radiating heat within said walls, means for passing air through said heat radiating means, and means for raising and lowering said walls.

5. A closed, unpartitioned air kiln comprising curtain walls, means for radiating heat within said walls, means fordriving air through said heat radiating means and means for increasing the humidity of the air contained within said walls.

G. A closed, unpartitioned air kiln comprising curtain walls, means for radiating heat within said walls, means for driving air through saidl heat radiating means and means for securing together adjacent edges of said walls.

7. A closed, unpartitioned air kiln comprising deaible, finely meshed and. substantially non-condensin walls, means for radiating heat Within said Walls and means for driving air through said heat radiating means.

8. A closed, unpartitioned air kiln comprising curtain Walls, means for radiating heat within said Walls, means for driving air through said heat radiating means, means for securing together adjacent edges of said Walls, an means for raising and lowering said Walls.

9. A closed, unpartitioned air kiln comprising curtain Walls, means for radiating heat Within said Walls, means for driving air through said heat radiating means, means for securing together adjacent edges of said Walls and means 4for increasing the humidity of the air contained Within said Walls.

10. A kiln comprising fabric walls, heat l radiating means Within said Walls, and a fan for driving air through said heat radiating means.

l1. A kiln comprising fabric walls, heat radiating means Within said Walls, a fan for driving air through said heat radiating means and a baille plate disposed at the back of said heat radiating means.

12. A kiln comprising fabric Walls, heat radiating means within said Walls, an oscillating fan for driving air through said heat radiating means and a baille plate disposed at the back of said heat radiating means.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto signed my name in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

CLIFFORD A. UUTLER.

Witnesses:

J. WM. ELLIS, WALTER H. K ELLEY. 

